Incubator Campaign Rules
Rules for the Incubator Campaign are designed around rapid character development. There is a series of challenges, culminating in ascension to epic level. They are designed to encourage experimentation, and to discourage investment in goals that have limited benefit at higher levels. Initiation Each character starts with ability scores, race, class, and hit points. See Ability Score Generation. You have no name. You have no money. You have no equipment other than what the DM gives you, which is never more than 10 g.p. worth, unless you are a wizard, in which case you also have a book of spells. Spellcasters may make an initial spell choice. At first level, each character receives a simple "Initiaition Quest" from a representative of one of the two questing faction leaders. This quest must be accomplished solo, and it must be finished successfully. (The alternative is death and restart!) Questing Factions Each new character is offered the opportunity to join one of two questing factions. Members of a questing faction may be granted quests and receive special rewards by completing them. Quest givers are high level members of the faction, usually (but not always!) NPCs. Membership in a questing faction may affect the character's place in the fabric of the campaign, but has no effect on the character beyond Narae. Non-membership in either faction generally results in slower progress, so membership is highly recommended! If a player character takes any action that requires a Quest Giver to defend herself, i.e. take armor class into account or make a saving throw or make an opposed ability check, then the player character is immediately and permanently destroyed. If a player character is compelled to take such action (as by a dominate person spell), then the compulsion is automatically dispelled and the character does not take the action. Alignment You may select an alignment. Rules as written regarding alignment change apply from that point on. But if you wish, and your choice of character classes allows it, you may wait until your character is 11th level to make a final decision regarding alignment. A character with undecided alignment is considered to be as neutral as possible within the limit of the character's class(es). For example, a rogue character may be undecided until level 11, until which point the character is considered neutral for the purpose of special attacks and defenses, but after which point any alignment may be chosen. A druid character with undecided alignment is treated as neutral, but becomes effectively lawful neutral on taking a level in monk. A paladin character is lawful good. Experience and Leveling Up Experience is awarded on the spot, as soon as there is a break in the action. Experience is calculated by the book, but for the purpose of acceleration, there is a hidden multiplier per character, which is determined by a hidden formula known only to the DM (but which may be guessed at by the players). A character who has gained enough experience to level may do so as soon as there is a break in the action. Leveling up requires a buddy - another player if one is available, or the DM if not. The buddy is responsible for supervising the relevant rules, the decisions made, and any die rolls. During the process, both the character leveling up and the buddy's character, if any, are removed from play. Play may continue in their absence, at the option of the other players, if any. In payment for serving as buddy, the buddy's character receives 400 XP. This is a sizable award at low levels, decreasingly so as the character advances. Once a player decides to level up, the player must make all necessary decisions, including choice of skills and feats, before recommencing play. However, at each even level (2, 4, 6, 8, ...) the player may make adjustments to prior skill, feat, and special ability choices when leveling up. These adjustments are retroactive in effect, and they are subject to DM approval. Death and Reinitiation (a.k.a. getting pwn'd) If your character dies, you may exercise a "rollback" option. If you decide to do so, your character loses one level, and experience points are set to the midpoint of the previous class level, unless the character is level one. The character rematerializes at a location determined by the DM, still carrying all of the items equipped at the time of death. You must make the decision to rollback on the round following death; otherwise, normal rules regarding death apply. Following death and rollback, a character receives a simple "Reinitiation Quest" from a representative of one of the two questing factions, and the opportunity to join the faction. A character may also perform a Reinitiation Quest voluntarily in order to change factions, but this an unusual event. Naming Quest The Naming Quest is an important, mandatory step in the development of a character. At 11th level, after choosing an alignment, the character becomes eligible for the Naming Quest. This quest may be granted only at the Cloister of Rains by the Keeper of the Keys, a special quest giver who may grant quests to members of either faction. To be granted the quest, the character must travel to the Cloister and petition the Keeper. Completion of this quest is a prerequisite for the Commencement quests, so it is required for every character before leaving Narae. It is also a prerequisite for the Emblem Quest, and comes with its own benefits. It need not be performed solo. The character who completes the quest is granted 1000 bonus experience points, and receives immediate, one-time access to the Portrait Gallery at the Cloister of Rains, wherein the character may discover a name and identity. You may also opt for your character to assume the identity of one of your retired Meregaer characters. The new character immediately receives one tenth of that character's final experience point total, but to do so, must forfeit the bonus 1000 experience points. Each retired character may be used at most one time this way. If the new character dies, the identity is lost. Also within the Portrait Gallery, the character will find a major magic item, representing a thing the character had in his previous life. It is a random major item of one of the following types, at the player's option: * ring * rod * armor/shield (select specific type, such as "banded mail") * weapon (select specific type, such as "longsword") * wondrous item (reroll until an item appropriate to the character's class is obtained) If the player wishes for a specific item of one of the above types instead of a random item, he/she is limited to the minor items table. This is the only path to obtaining an armor, shield or weapon item made of a specific material, such as mithral or adamantine. The Emblem Quest The "Emblem Quest" is a special, optional quest that allows a character to achieve greater power, in connection with a special item. Requirements for completing the Emblem Quest are as follows. * The character must be a quester with one of the two factions. * The character must have at least 15 class levels. * The character must encounter the Emblem Quest Giver, an NPC of the campaign whose identity is not generally known and may change over time. The Emblem Quest Giver is associated with both questing factions. * The character must accept a mission from the Emblem Quest Giver. The mission is fully described to the character before the decision is made to accept it. The mission does change as days pass, so a character who passes on a particular mission for some reason may expect to be offered a different one in time. * Only one Emblem Quest may be active at any one time. No missions will be offered while a quest is in progress. * The quester must fully complete the terms of success for the mission as described by the Emblem Quest Giver, within 7 days of accepting. Help from other characters is OK, but if another character performs any of the completing actions instead of the quester, the quest is annulled (and the quester is aware of this). The completing action or actions depend on the mission, but are always clearly described. * In the course of completing the mission, the character must accumulate at least one third of difference between the minimum experience points required for the level the character was at when accepting the quest, and the minimum experience points required for the next level. For example, if the character is a male human fighter of level 15 at the start of the quest, then he must score at least 5000 ((120000 - 105000) / 3) experience points over the course of the mission to win. No questing bonus multiplier is active during this time, for any reason. If the terms of success are achieved, but the required experience points are not accumulated, the Emblem Quest is not completed. For this reason, it is advantageous to attempt the Emblem Quest with few companions. On completion of the Emblem Quest, the adventurer receives 1000 bonus experience points and may also choose one of the following special rewards. * Item Familiar Initiation * Legendary Item Initiation * Relic Keeper Initiation * Tattooed Monk Initiation * Soulbound Cohort (see below) The adventurer need not return to the quest giver to receive the rewards. Each of these rewards has an immediate benefit and also puts the character on a path that leads toward acquisition of an signature epic magic item, or its equivalent. Item Familiar Initiation and Legendary Item Initiation are alternate paths for general character types. While the item familiar feature offers greater opportunity for personalization of the item, legendary items are equally powerful, cost less, and are less risky for the character. Relic Keeper Initiation offers a variation of legendary item for religious types (cleric, paladin, ...). Tattooed Monk Initiation offers an alternative for monks for whom investment in an item may not be in character. Each reward is described in detail below, followed by a matrix that weighs the pros and cons of each against the others. (TBD) Soulbound Cohort Feat Prerequisite: Player character must have Leadership or similar feat/special ability (i.e. planar cohort, animal companion, special mount). Only attainable as Emblem quest reward. Master and Cohort benefit from permanent telepathic bond as detailed under permanence spell. This bond has a special benefit in that Master and Cohort both use the better of their two initiative rolls. Master has continuous status effect in regard to Cohort. Cohort takes the place of the item familiar 'slot'. If Master is a COM, then Cohort appears when and where Master is summoned. If Master is still in Narae, then Cohort will go with her when the time comes to travel to Meregaer. Cohort has 2 (and only 2) soulbound items: 1 wearable (such as armor) and 1 carried (such as a weapon). Share spells: Master and Cohort can share spells similar to animal companions and druids. If Cohort dies or is dismissed by Master, Master must attempt a Fortitude saving throw (DC= 10+Cohort hit dice). Failure means she loses 200 experience points per level; success reduces the loss to one-half that amount. Planar Travel The Ethereal, Astral, and Shadow planes are reachable from the World of Narae. A character may use plane shift, gate, or other means to travel between Narae and any of the elemental planes or outer planes. However, no alternative material plane - specifically, the World of Meregaer - can be reached from Narae through these means, in either direction. These alternative material planes effectively do not exist within the Narae Campaign. Getting Started Suggestions Have a plan for constructing your character. Decide on a character class and specializations. (all characters specialize!) Learn about available skills and feats. If your character is multiclass, map out a level progression that maximizes survival chance while avoiding the experience point penalty for imbalanced multiclass characters. Pick up one of the advanced player handbooks (The Complete Mage, The Complete Warrior, etc.) and scope out specialty classes and prestige classes.